In Xun Yuxian's prison battle, Liu Yu from Pingyuan was a very important part.
The first one is political.
Since you, Cao Cao, want to help the Han Dynasty and rebuild the republic, rather than reform the old and create new things, then you need a Liu clan as a banner, so that it makes sense.
In the land of Qingzhou, there are many kings with the surname Liu. For example, there is a Jinan king next to Cao Cao.
But none of these satisfied Cao Cao, but Liu Yu was different. He was a well-known elder in the clan and had served as Zongzheng, so he was already highly respected.
What's more important is that Liu Yu also has an elite army of ten thousand people, whose elite infantry and cavalry are unmatched by Cao Cao.
At this time, uniting with more powerful allies is undoubtedly the most correct choice at this stage.
So Cao Cao invited Chen Qun to go to Pingyuan to convey his intention to form an alliance with Liu Yu and recommend Liu Yu as the leader of the alliance.
Chen Qun was recommended by Xun Yu, and the relationship between the two of them was the best. When they were both young, the elders of both sides got to know each other.
Two months ago, Chen Qun received a letter from Xun Yu inviting him to serve as an official in Jinan.
At that time, Chen Qun was organizing his family to move back to Xuchang with his father Chen Ji. This was what most of the wealthy families were doing after the Yingchuan Rebellion.
After all, the war is over, and they want to return to their original homeland, where their ancestors' tombs and inheritance are.
At that time, Chen Qun persuaded his father to move his clan to Xuzhou. Chen Qun believed that Yingchuan was the place of the Four Wars. In the era of Anping, transportation was natural from all directions, but in times of chaos, it was a battleground for military strategists. If the clan had remained in Xuchang
, will inevitably suffer a military disaster.
Among the scholar-bureaucrats at that time, Xuzhou was generally considered a place to avoid chaos.
At that time, the people of Xuzhou were prosperous, the grain supply was poor, and many refugees returned. Famous families from surrounding counties and counties moved to Xuzhou one after another. For example, Zheng Xuan, a famous scholar from Qingzhou, took his clan south to Xuzhou and was allocated land by Tao Qian for resettlement.
Therefore, after Chen Qun analyzed the situation, he suggested that his father go east to Xuzhou to avoid the war.
But his father Chen Ji shook his head and asked:
"If the world is in chaos, how can any place be spared? If we go east to Xuzhou, people will leave their hometown and be humble. How can Xuzhou survive alone in the troubled times? Moreover, here are the tombs of ancestors, family and county officials, and old in-laws. In
Here, we are called the Chen family. As for the way to protect yourself from war, it is not to avoid it, but to welcome the hero. Do you know the truth behind this? "
Chen Qun respectfully accepted his teachings.
It was against this background that Chen Qun received Xun Yu's letter.
Chen Qun still misses this good friend who has been gone for more than three years. Over the years, the two have kept writing letters.
He knew that Xun Yu was in prison. Although Xun Yu told him that it was his own choice, Chen Qun still felt uneasy.
I always feel that my friend would rather live in prison than escape because he wants to atone for his father's death.
But when Chen Qun read the contents of the letter, he finally confirmed that his life as a prisoner did not destroy his friend's will, but made him look more closely at the world today.
The friend said in the letter that he had found a hero who could bring peace to the troubled times, and hoped that Chen Qun could come to Jinan to help him.
After receiving the letter, Chen Qun started packing his luggage without any hesitation. When he said goodbye to his father, he said:
"Sir, I am going to Jinan to serve as an official. Wen Ruo said that I have found a hero who can put an end to this troubled world."
Chen Ji fell silent, and the first sentence he spoke was:
"Do you know who Cao Cao, the Prime Minister of Jinan, is?"
Chen Qun nodded and explained:
"After Cao Mengde was castrated, we are not ashamed. But I believe in Wen Ruo. If Wen Ruo thinks that Cao Mengde has the ability to bring peace to this troubled world, then he must be."
In the end, Chen Ji let Chen Qun go.
There were five others like Chen Qun. After receiving Xun Yu's letter, each of them decided to go to Jinan to serve as an official without any hesitation.
You should know that children of famous families like them generally work locally to protect their family's safety.
For example, if Chen Qun wants to serve as an official, he will either stay in Yingchuan or go to Wang Yun's side. If he doesn't like either of them, he can choose to continue to raise his wife at home.
It is almost rare for someone to leave home and work in another state, because this can easily bring disaster to the family.
But Chen Qun and the other six people went anyway. The reason was not complicated, it was because they believed in Xun Yu.
When Chen Qun, Xi Zhicai and others traveled across mountains and rivers to Dongpingling, Cao Cao immediately entrusted these people with important responsibilities.
For example, when Chen Qun arrived, he was entrusted by Cao Cao with the mission of sending Liu Yu as envoy. At that time, Cao Cao had only met Chen Qun twice.
One was at the banquet to welcome the people of Yingchuan, and the other was when Cao Cao was giving orders.
Do you think Cao Cao knew that Chen Qun was extraordinary? No, it was because Cao Cao trusted Xun Yu.
Whether it was Chen Qun, Xi Zhicai and others, or Cao Cao's trust in them, both sides trusted one person, and that was Xun Yu.
Because he didn't understand Chen Qun's ability, Cao Cao frowned when he heard that the matter did not go smoothly:
"What's going on? I know Liu Yu's character. He shouldn't refuse to ally with me."
Xun Yu explained:
"According to the news sent back by Chen Qun, the conversation went smoothly at first. But when Liu Yu saw the eight words in the letter, 'The hegemony can be achieved, the Han Dynasty can be prosperous', he immediately asked
One sentence: 'Whose Han Dynasty is this?'"
Cao Cao's focus was not here. He asked Xun Yu:
"Chen Changwen didn't come back?"
Xun Yu opened his mouth and said calmly:
"The long article said that the alliance has not been settled yet, and he still has a chance."
At this time, Cao Cao nodded, recognizing Chen Qun's attitude.
Lao Cao is not a person who is eager for quick success. After handing over a task, he insists on immediate results from his subordinates. Whether things are done well or not depends on certain factors, but your attitude towards doing things must be there.
If you encounter a problem and Chen Qun comes back, does that mean you are working sincerely?
But still, Chen Qun did not let him down.
So Cao Cao asked Xun Yu to continue talking.
Xun Yu used his eloquence to explain the whole story clearly.
Liu Yu also wanted to form an alliance with Cao Cao, but he was full of doubts about Cao Cao's political intentions. What does Cao Cao mean when you talk about helping the Han Dynasty and achieving hegemony?
Does it mean that you, Cao Cao, want to help the Han Dynasty like Han Xin assisted Emperor Gaozu, or do you want to be the overlord? Or is Cao Cao simply ambitious and wants to be the leader of the Han Dynasty yourself?
Or maybe it's both. First, use the call to support the Han Dynasty to strengthen your strength and achieve hegemony. Then when the conditions are ripe, you, Cao Cao, will give in and achieve your empire?
Therefore, this is the reason why Liu Yu asked on the spot: "Whose Han Dynasty will succeed?"
Liu Yu, who asked this question, immediately became wary of Cao Cao.
Because if you want to achieve the same hegemony as Qi Huan, then you don't need to come to me, Liu Yu. Because there are emperors in both Xijing and Tokyo.
And now you want me, Liu Yu, to be the leader of the alliance and you want to elect me to be the emperor. What does that mean?
It's because you, Cao Cao, want me to be a puppet, pretending to realize your hegemony, and then find an opportunity to transform yourself and become emperor.
There is no doubt that although Liu Yu is kind, he is not stupid. He has been playing politics in the court for more than ten years.
From this point of view, you, Cao Cao, are just a fledgling boy, and you want to trick him?
Chen Qun also knew that Liu Yu's issue was complicated, and he would never dare to speak casually without confirming it with Cao Cao in detail.
Otherwise, it would still be a trivial matter to break up the alliance. If he was beaten as a rebel and traitor because of this, Cao Cao would be passive.
But things took a turn for the better.
That night, Liu Yu's son Liu He secretly found Chen Qun. After a series of conversations with Chen Qun, he learned that Cao Cao really wanted to accept Liu Yu as the leader of the alliance, pacify Qing Xu, and then use Qing Xu's power to rebuild the republic.
So Liu He, who was confident in his heart, went to find his father on his own, and the implicit intention was to ask his father to agree to this matter.
Knowing that his son is more like his father, Liu Yu asked his son:
"Do you want to follow the example of our ancestors? Do you also want to compete in the world?"
Liu He's face suddenly turned red and he did not dare to say anything.
Liu Yu did not reprimand his son, but asked:
"Do you think it will be difficult for either Shizu or Gaozu to win the world?"
Liu He thought for a while and replied in a low voice:
"I think it was Gaozu. At that time, the Overlord of Western Chu was here. But Shizu had no worthy rivals."
Half relieved, half disappointed, Liu Yu sighed:
"Wrong. It is much more difficult for Shizu to conquer the world than for Gaozu. Just because when Shizu went to Hebei to establish his foundation, there was already a Han emperor in the world, and that was Emperor Gengshi. At that time, Shizu and he had the status of monarch and minister. And the world
Those who oppose Mang are all led by the Liu family. But when the Chang'an officials kill Wang Mang and the news spreads to Wan, the capital of Emperor Gengshi, then the hearts of the world will return to Gengshi."
Seeing that his son still didn't understand, Liu Yu had given up and simply said:
"The virtue and prosperity of the Han Dynasty depends on heaven and responds to people. If people with the surname Liu of Shizu rebelled against Gengshi, who else in the world could not rebel? Am I, the Liu family, still the one who was appointed? Therefore, even if Shizu is more intelligent than
Gengshi, I still dare not betray you. What talent do you, Liu He, dare to commit?"
At this time, Liu He was so frightened by his father's momentum that he was sweating.
But he still refused to admit defeat and said:
"They all have the surname Liu. Why doesn't it take their turn to come to my house in this world?"
At this time, Liu Yu no longer wanted to waste any more words on this disobedient son, so he cursed:
"Get out. You are not allowed to leave this house without my order."
After that, Liu Yu was so angry that he walked away, and Liu He was actually imprisoned.
When lobbyists like Liu He were dealt with by Liu Yu, Chen Qun judged that it was impossible to persuade Liu Yu for the time being.
But why did Chen Qun judge that an alliance was still possible?
From Chen Qun's explanation, we learned that Liu Yu's subordinate Wen Wu actually generally supported the alliance with Cao Cao. Although the reasons for their support were different.
For example, Shen Pei, the Cui brothers, etc. are all from the Hebei faction and are eager to fight back to Hebei. They consider the overall interests and agree to form an alliance with Cao Cao.
Jinan is located at the rear of the plains. If there are strong enemies in the north, once there is a conflict with Jinan, it will inevitably fall into the unfavorable situation of being attacked from both sides.
Moreover, if you want to fight back to Hebei, it is impossible to rely solely on Pingyuan's strength. Only by forming an alliance to quell Qingxu, as Cao Cao said, can you possibly counterattack Hebei.
But why didn't this faction support Chen Qun when he was present? It turned out that they also had doubts about Cao Cao's follow-up strategy.
According to Cao Cao's plan, after they captured Qingxu, they would fight back to Kyoto to the west and be close to the emperor. But Shen Pei and others wanted to fight north. This would create a conflict between the two sides.
In addition to Shen Pei's faction, generals such as Sun Jian and Gai Tong also supported an alliance with Cao Cao.
Sun Jian heard that he was going south to fight. Wouldn't it mean that the more he fights, the closer he will be to his hometown? As a guest general in Qinghe, Sun Jian had had enough of being squeezed out by the people in Hebei. He still wanted to return to his hometown in Wuzhong, whether it was recruiting troops or horses.
Just staying there would be better than now.
And what about Gai Tong? He was an old friend with Cao Cao.
The two of them were Lang Guan in the same year, and they had similar interests. They both had a drunken and miserly temperament. And although he led the Youzhou Cavalry, he was actually torn apart internally.
The consequences of Gongsun Zan's previous killing of Xian Yufu began to erupt, and his subordinates such as Gongsun Yue and others had already divided their forces with him.
Having lost half of his sudden cavalry, he has less and less say in the Qinghe Group. Therefore, Gai Tong also hopes to form an alliance with Cao Cao at this time and attract him as a foreign aid.
All of the above were found out by Chen Qun.
After listening to these analyses, Cao Cao took a new look at Chen Qun.
It seems that Chen Changwen still has something.
But things are still stuck here. Thinking of this, Cao Cao's head hurt again.
At first, he thought that the alliance would be a matter of course, but he didn't expect that Liu Yu would admit his death. When he thought about the Ping Qingzhou thieves later, dealing with Tao Qian's Xuzhou, Cao Cao became upset.
At this time, Xun Yu poured a bowl of tea for Cao Cao.
After drinking tea, Cao Cao felt a little calmer.
At this time, people were shouting everywhere on the street outside the county government office:
"The wind is blowing, please take shelter."
Suddenly, a strong wind broke out in Qingzhou, threatening chaos.
…
Naturally, the strong winds of the East cannot blow on the grasslands of the West.
But when Jinan suffered a strong wind disaster, a strong wind was also brewing in the land of Xizhou and Liangzhou.
No one could have predicted what kind of chaos this strong wind blowing from Liangzhou would bring to the Kansai court.
In the third month of the third year of Chengtian, Wuwei County, Hughtu.
Xiutu is a county under Wuwei County. Because the nearby valley has abundant water and is located on the important transportation route between Mobei and the Hexi Corridor, this place has been the largest military settlement in Wuwei County since the beginning of the Han Dynasty.
At its peak, there were 80,000 garrison soldiers here, making it the second largest Han settlement area in Hexi after the Juyan settlement area.
There is a farming area of up to 20,000 hectares. Just cleaning the canals requires the deployment of a thousand farming men at one time.
But unfortunately, the wind is always blown away by the rain.
That was in the past. At this time, Xiutu Tuntian District had shrunk a lot due to the rebellion of the Qiang people. But it was the powerful Wuwei who really caused its decline.
The Duan family, Yin family, Suo family and other large families in the county took advantage of the Qiang people's rebellion and continued to occupy the fields in the Xiutuntian area.
Up to now, of the original more than 20,000 hectares of land for cultivation, less than 3,000 hectares are still in the hands of the descendants of the former colonizers.
Today, these three thousand hectares of land cannot be saved.